The 2018 Ford EcoBoost 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on November 18, 2018, at Homestead–Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) oval, it was the 36th and final race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. Joey Logano won the race, claiming his first Cup Series championship.
Report
Background
Homestead–Miami Speedway is a motorsport track located in Homestead, Florida. The track, which has several configurations, has promoted several series of racing, including NASCAR, the IndyCar Series, the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series and the Championship Cup Series.
From 2002 to 2019, Homestead–Miami Speedway hosted the final race of the season in all three of NASCAR's series: the Cup Series, the Xfinity Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. Ford Motor Company sponsored all three of the season-ending races, under the names Ford EcoBoost 400, Ford EcoBoost 300, and Ford EcoBoost 200, respectively. The weekend itself was marketed as Ford Championship Weekend. The Xfinity Series held its season-ending races at Homestead from 1995 until 2020, when it was moved to Phoenix Raceway, along with NASCAR's other two series.
Championship drivers Joey Logano was the first of the four drivers to clinch a spot in the Championship 4, winning the first race of the Round of 8 at Martinsville.
Kyle Busch clinched the second spot in the Championship 4 based on points at the Phoenix race when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. crashed out of the race and finished 33rd. Busch had to finish at least 33rd to be locked in on points. He later clinched a playoff berth anyway by winning the race.
Martin Truex Jr. clinched the third spot in the Championship 4 based on points.
Kevin Harvick clinched the final spot based on points after his Texas win was encumbered after a spoiler violation.
Entry list Driver Team Manufacturer 00 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick (CC) Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 6 Matt Kenseth Roush–Fenway Racing Ford 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush–Fenway Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano (CC) Team Penske Ford 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Ford 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 B. J. McLeod (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 72 Corey LaJoie TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 78 Martin Truex Jr. (CC) Furniture Row Racing Toyota 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Regan Smith Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 97 Tanner Berryhill Obaika Racing Toyota 99 Kyle Weatherman StarCom Racing ChevroletOfficial entry list
First practice Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 31.035 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 31.035 173.997 2 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 31.160 173.299 3 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 31.218 172.828Official first practice results
Qualifying
Denny Hamlin scored the pole for the race with a time of 31.059 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 111 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 31.112 31.243 31.059 218 Kyle Busch (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 30.920 31.112 31.102 378 Martin Truex Jr. (CC) Furniture Row Racing Toyota 31.013 31.045 31.117 42 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 31.031 31.139 31.136 522 Joey Logano (CC) Team Penske Ford 30.949 31.122 31.148 641 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 31.088 31.165 31.298 720 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 31.301 31.028 31.303 831 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 31.113 31.258 31.317 917 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush–Fenway Racing Ford 31.215 31.147 31.322 1010 Aric Almirola Stewart—Haas RacingFord 31.250 31.221 31.331 1142 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 31.283 31.293 31.390 124 Kevin Harvick (CC) Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 31.259 31.182 31.406 1388 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31.187 31.299 — 149 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31.225 31.301 — 1512 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 31.051 31.345 — 163 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 31.231 31.351 — 176 Matt Kenseth Roush–Fenway Racing Ford 31.296 31.359 — 1819 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 31.135 31.395 — 1948 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31.291 31.404 — 2047 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 31.369 31.476 — 211 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 31.288 31.482 — 2221 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 31.224 31.511 — 2343 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 31.371 31.574 — 2434 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 31.360 31.633 — 2538 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 31.393 — — 2614 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 31.427 — — 2737 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 31.536 — — 2824 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31.616 — — 2932 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 31.672 — — 3095 Regan Smith Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 31.818 — — 3113 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 31.830 — — 3200 Landon Cassill StarCom Racing Chevrolet 31.962 — — 3323 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Ford 32.297 — — 3472 Corey LaJoie TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 32.335 — — 3599 Kyle Weatherman StarCom Racing Chevrolet 32.355 — — 3651 B. J. McLeod (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 32.842 — — 3797 Tanner Berryhill Obaika Racing Toyota 33.138 — — 3866 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 33.414 — — 3915 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 0.000 — —Official qualifying results
Practice (post-qualifying)
Second practice Joey Logano was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 31.838 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 31.838 169.609 2 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 31.916 169.194 3 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 32.049 168.492Official second practice results
Final practice Joey Logano was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 31.450 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 31.450 171.701 2 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 31.656 170.584 3 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 31.685 170.428Official final practice results
Race
Note: Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., and Kyle Busch were not eligible for stage points in this race because of their participation as the Championship 4 drivers.
Stage Results
Stage 1 Laps: 80
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 4 Kevin Harvick (CC) Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 02 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 93 18 Kyle Busch (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 04 22 Joey Logano (CC) Team Penske Ford 05 78 Martin Truex Jr. (CC) Furniture Row Racing Toyota 06 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 57 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 48 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 210 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 1Official stage one results
Stage 2 Laps: 80
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 102 4 Kevin Harvick (CC) Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 03 22 Joey Logano (CC) Team Penske Ford 04 78 Martin Truex Jr. (CC) Furniture Row Racing Toyota 05 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 66 18 Kyle Busch (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 07 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 48 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 210 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 1Official stage two results
Final Stage Results
Stage 3 Laps: 107
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 5 22 Joey Logano (CC) Team Penske Ford 267 402 3 78 Martin Truex Jr. (CC) Furniture Row Racing Toyota 267 353 12 4 Kevin Harvick (CC) Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 267 344 2 18 Kyle Busch (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 267 335 4 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 267 346 17 6 Matt Kenseth Roush–Fenway Racing Ford 267 317 14 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 267 308 26 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 267 309 10 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 267 3810 6 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 267 3211 16 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 267 2612 1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 267 3313 11 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 267 4314 19 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 267 2515 8 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 267 2216 9 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush–Fenway Racing Ford 267 2117 15 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 267 2018 21 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 267 1919 20 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 266 1820 25 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 266 1721 23 43 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 266 1622 31 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 266 1523 27 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 266 1424 28 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 266 1325 22 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 265 1226 29 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 264 1127 7 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 264 1328 24 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 263 929 13 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 263 830 18 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 262 731 32 00 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 262 032 33 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Ford 261 033 39 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 259 034 34 72 Corey LaJoie TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 259 335 36 51 B. J. McLeod (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 256 036 35 99 Kyle Weatherman StarCom Racing Chevrolet 256 137 38 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 254 038 37 97 Tanner Berryhill Obaika Racing Toyota 254 139 30 95 Regan Smith Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 240 1Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 22 among 7 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 5 for 26 Red flags: 0 Time of race: 3 hours, 0 minutes and 36 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television NBC covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the call in the booth for the race. Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race. While the race itself aired on NBC, NBCSN aired NBCSN NASCAR Hot Pass, a simultaneous live feed dedicated to each of the Championship drivers, with commentary by Leigh Diffey and Dale Jarrett. Also, three different angles from in-car cameras and a track map tracked the driver's position and changes throughout the field.
NBCBooth announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Rick AllenColor-commentator: Jeff BurtonColor-commentator: Steve LetarteColor-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dave BurnsParker KligermanMarty SniderKelli Stavast
Radio MRN had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on SiriusXM's NASCAR Radio.